Most people seldom shut down the computer when they're done working or playing on them. They let them drift off to sleep mode or stand-by, to be awoken swiftly with the flick of a spacebar. Turning off your computer every once in a while will help it run longer and smoother. Sometimes, the computer will shut off involuntarily due to software updates. This way or the other, when the computer starts up again, we see them - all the apps that pop up automatically when we turn on the computer. But no one really invited them to start on their own, did they?
Apart from blocking the view on the monitor, having too much software that starts automatically also wastes memory and other system resources, gradually slowing down the system and possibly reducing its performance. Let's see how can we stop those apps from opening on startup and cluttering your device.
At the bottom of your computer screen, go to Start and then Settings. The settings may appear as a small gear icon. If you can't find the settings, click the magnifying glass icon next to the start button. This will open a search bar, into which you can type the word "settings."
In Settings, click Apps. At the left of the screen, you should see a menu, and at the very bottom of that menu, click Startup.
You should see a list of apps that may pop up when you turn on your computer. Next to each app, there's an on-off toggle button. Go wild! Switch any app you want "on" to pop up at startup or "off" to not start at all.
You may notice that each app has a small tag that reads "High impact," "Medium impact," etc. High impact means that this app affects your computer startup a lot, and turning it off should have a big positive impact on the velocity of your computer's startup. Low impact apps won't have that much difference, but if it clutters your monitor, do toggle it off.
This video should aid you if you run into trouble:
For MacOS computers, there are 3 ways to fix the app autostart issue.
Method #1
On your Mac computer, go to the Apple icon at the very top left corner, and choose System Preferences.
From the window that opened, pick Users & Groups. Click the Login Items tab.
You'll see a list of items that open automatically when you log in. To remove an app or item from popping up as your computer turns it on, click on its name and then hit the minus button at the bottom of the Users & Groups window.
Method #2
You can also pick and choose your preferences straight from the dock (the bar at the bottom of your screen). Simply right-click an item you see on the dock, select Options, and then tick the Open at Login option on or off.
Method #3
On your Mac computer, go to the Apple icon at the very top left corner and choose Restart. A window will pop up (surprise!) and ask if you're sure you want to restart your computer now. At the bottom of said window, there will be a tick-box next to "Reopen windows when logging back in." If you keep it ticked on, the next time you start your Mac up, every window and app you hadn't closed before you shut your Mac off will pop back up again. To avoid that, simply uncheck that box, but hurry - you've only got 60 seconds before the system restart.
This video shows you methods #1 and #3:
H/T: Tom'sGuide
